Lyla's Gifts
by Chicken Yuki
Summary: The sociable gift shop owner by the outskirts of Flower Bud Village is blessed with many gifts: Beauty, Maturity, and Intuition among others. However, as she reflects over a string of deep regrets, she learns about the greatest gift she possesses.


**Harvest Moon: Magical Melody**

**Lyla's Gifts**

One fine summer day near the outskirts of Flower Bud Village, a pink-haired woman was happily tending her little gift shack.

The aforementioned woman wore a long blue dress apron over a white puffy sleeved shirt and flowery yellow dress, as well as a pair of orange flowers in her wavy pink hair. Due to her constant expression of mirth and squinting eyes, it's tough to determine either her true feelings or eye color. Nonetheless, many considered her bright disposition a blessing to have around.

Her humble shack housed various stock, from jams of many flavors, a variety of jewelry, perfumes different scents, and a wide array of clay crafts. It's no small wonder that such a small abode was able to fit all of this without looking one bit cramped.

At the time, the pink-haired woman enjoyed a hearty blueberry jam toast when a young man stepped in with a flushed face.

He had messy short black hair and big grey eyes covered by square frames. He wore a light olive shirt and a brown bow tie, and black pants. He gave off the distinct air of a steam era enthusiast.

"Why, hello again, Louis." The proprietor greeted serenely.

"L-Lyla..." the man in glasses stuttered in a fluttered state. "H...hi!"

"So then, What brings you to my shop today?" she asked curiously.

For awhile, the man called Louis hesitated to answer the woman she called Lyla. After shaking like a leaf for what seemed like an eternity, he slowly took out a rolled up blueprint in to aid him in his explanation.

"Ah... y-yes. I noticed... that this place picks up heat rather easily in this season. And... I'm concerned that the opposite might be true once winter rolls around. To think about you struggling under severe temperatures is a grave concern, so..."

Louis then rolls out the blueprint and shows it to Lyla while hiding behind it in some attempt to save face.

"I... I wanted to build this for your shop, if that's okay with you." he finished.

Lyla looked at the blueprints curiosity.

"Oh... I see. Guessing from the shape of this contraption and your personal explanation, I'm assuming this is an air conditioner. Am I right?" Lyla asked.

Louis nodded vigorously, until he remembered his face was behind the blueprint, so he put it beside him and nodded again.

"Yes! Yes... umm... you wouldn't mind, would you?" Louis asked.

Lyla paused for a minute and went into a deep thinking posture. After a long time, Lyla's typical grin made a mischievous return.

"Well, of course! I really love your consideration, Louis!" Lyla answered.

Hearing this, Louis resorted to hiding behind his blueprint once ore to keep his tomato-like face from showing.

"I know there are some people who easily refuse Charity, but I think that's mostly on an account of pointless pride, don't you think? I'll happily expect this gift you want to give me." she finished.

"...Th-th-thank you, Lyla!" Louis cried aloud.

Lyla giggled. "No, really. I should be the one to be thanking you for wanting to help me."

Louis was left utterly speechless.

"I knew it... I knew she had a kindness to match her serene body! I can feel my heart pulsing, and yet... I still can't say it! The reason why I want to be so generous towards her..." Louis panicked in his head.

"Louis! Louis! Are you out here again?!" a voice cried form the outside.

Louis gulped.

"...oh no. I forgot about the time again, didn't I?" Louis thought.

"Aha! There you are!" The voice cried all of a sudden.

All of a sudden, a spirited woman with a flaming red ponytail rushed in the shop to deliver Louis a headlock. She wore a brown leather blazer jacket over a white shirt, and a pair of light blue jean shorts.

"C'mon Louis! It's about time we went back to work back at the Workshop! I don't want Dad hassling us for being lazy, so you better get your butt back into gear!" Ann threatened.

Louis laughed nervously. "A-Ann! I'm sorry! It's just... I finally worked up the courage to tell Lyla about the project, and---"

"Lyla?" Ann uttered.

"Hello again, Ann." Lyla greeted casually.

Ann turned to face the pink-haired socialite. For a brief moment, Ann looked as if the meaning of life completely escaped her. She then quickly discarded this expression for a more affable one.

"Yo, Lyla gal!" Ann greeted back.

She then faced Louis with the widest grin possible.

"So... you've finally made your move, you sly dog!" Ann teased Louis in a voice only he could here.

"N-no..." Louis got out quietly. "I... I'm just going to build something for her shop, a simple air conditioner! That's it."

"I see... so you're going to first wow her by showering her with gifts, huh? Quite the strategist, aren't you? Trying to lure her out and have HER fall so deep that she'll be the one doing the confessing. Well, no complaints here, as long as it gets the job done." Ann grinned.

"Uh... Ann!" Louis cried aloud.

Ann then turned to Lyla again. "Say, if Louis is going to be preoccupied around here, maybe I could help out, too! With me on the job as well, I'm sure we can get that air conditioner installed in record time!" she bragged.

"Uh, Ann, please... I'd rather if I do this alone. This is my gift to Lyla, so I'd rather it be personla" Louis requested, remembering the red-head's pristine record of bringing forth destruction to most mechanical objects she touched.

Ann looked like she was dealt a harsh blow, which Lyla also noted to herself. But again, Ann quickly wiped this expression from her face. "But, Louis... buddy, we've been a pretty tight team for awhile, right? I mean, I figured you'd be psyched to have some help from your longtime partner in this."

"Ann... I..."

"I think what Louis means to say is that he needs to have some personal growth with this project. I'm sure you two have worked together on so many occasions, that he's afraid you two might develop too strong of a dependency on each other." Lyla suggested.

"Oh, well then... I guess that makes sense when you explain it like that." Ann hesitantly agreed.

A small smile formed on Louis' smile.

"She's... so understanding, too. She's just so flawless. I just can't understand why it is that all the other guys aren't trying to win her over. Especially Jack. I've seen him casually mingling with all the other girls, and I've yet to see him try to make his move! I guess I should just be thankful for that, but then there's still Basil to worry about. He just makes charming Lyla look too easy..." he thought to himself.

"Right. Louis, we should head back like I said earlier. Dad always worries about me too easily." Ann reminded him.

"Ah, oh... right. Sorry, Lyla... but... my break is over, so I should be heading back. Eh... I guess I could get started on that air conditioner first thing in the morning, if you don't mind..." Louis said.

Lyla nodded. "I'm looking forward to it!" she cheered.

Louis nodded with his usual bashful expression.

"Alright, then... goodbye, Lyla." he said before leaving.

While Louis headed back to the Workshop, Ann remained behind in a stiff, yet shaky stance. Her eyes looked straight outside with her back turned to Lyla.

"...While Louis starts sticking around here for your little gift... Please, take care of him. I know I'm not exactly qualified to judge his workmanship, but he can be a tad clumsy sometimes. I just really don't want to see him hurt himself." Ann stated seriously.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure he gets through his work with little injury. If he happens to hurt himself, I'll tend to him personally." Lyla assured her softly.

"You know..." Ann began say.

She motioned as if she was reaching for something on her face, then returned the hand to her side while clinching both into fists.

"That guy... Louis... he cares about you. A lot." Ann finished.

At that moment, Lyla's smile appeared more serene and sincere than ever.

"I know... and I appreciate him so much for it. I really hope that man can find the courage to fulfill his dreams to the fullest." She replied.

"Good." Ann said. Her voice nearly cracked. "I just... I don't want Louis hanging around with some careless floozy, okay? I'm just trying to look out for him as a friend."

"You're a very good friend to him, then. And I'm grateful to you for that." Lyla said sincerely.

Ann trembeled even more with conflicted emotions. Lyla's kindness didn't seem to quell her in any way.

"_What am I doing? I'm Louis' best friend! I know the guy values me like a sister, and he always looked up to me. He practically admires me! So then... why isn't that enough?"_

She then took one last hesitant glance at Lyla before turning back.

_"Why can't I be happy for him, when he's finally making progress with her?"_

"...Thank you." Ann uttered just loud enough to Lyla before walking off.

After that little conversation, Lyla was left alone with much curiosity and unease.

"Ann... are you starting to have second thoughts about him?" She said to herself.

She then lowered her head and placed her hand to feel an awkward heartbeat.

"This has been an interesting state of affairs lately. Louis has always been quite the gentleman around me despite his shyness. I actually find his quiet nature adorable. I just really want to see how he'll do it, that special way of confessing his feelings to me. He deserves to express his romantic fantasy as he wishes. Yes, I feel that I could easily fall in love with him. ."

She then recalled Ann's feelings of inadequacy flowing out of her.

"But then, Ann seems to realize her own emotions. I'm not sure... there's a whole lot of doubt in her mind, she I can tell she's frustrated with me, even when she resists this frustration. Louis is blind to this... and I think, no, I know I'm responsible for that."

Lyla took a moment to look around her shop. This may have been the longest time this usually serene went without her usually smile.

"Should I say something? Should I let Louis know of this, or try and help Ann at the risk of complicating matters? But Ann is trying so hard to put her discomfort out of her mind, while Louis is working hard on his own to feel confident in his feelings. It would feel too awkward to try and ensure a friendship when I'm part of the problem." she said with a sigh.

Suddenly, Lyla experienced a horrible sinking feeling.

_"What if... I have been neglecting the feelings of somebody else?"_

Lyla shook in horror. She understood her keen intuition really well, and she felt certain truth in her recent thought. Still, at this one moment, she wanted believe in the occasional inaccuracy that's bound to inflict anyone with a predicting mind.

"No... Basil has never shown any signs of strong emotions. And Jack... he's just a kind and earnest young man eager to make friends." Lyla rationalized.

The gift store proprietor took a deep breath to quell her anxiety before proceeding with her occupation.

"That settles it. I just have to let everything run its course and hope it all works out for the better." she concluded.

Still, her uneasy thoughts were still etched somewhere deep inside her mind.

_"You're far too preoccupied with Louis... to realize that HE loves you as well..."_

----

Three years later, in the sizable brick home built on 3-2 Flower Bud Lane, Lyla sat wearily by a window sill as she contemplated the past.

"I still remember... all that I observed those three short years ago. I should be completely happy by now. I mean, to this very day I have many reasons to be happy now. It's just… how could I have missed those few vital details?" She thought to herself.

Just outside, she saw Louis and Ann, walking side by side in their usual cheer. Lyla smiled faintly upon meeting this sight.

"Louis, Ann… I'm grateful the two of you are starting to discover something together. I can already feel your bond deepen in the time that has passed…"

After the pair disappeared from sight, Lyla's usual smile dropped.

"I'm thankful you two have retained this bond… even despite my intervention, or was it my lack of intervention?" she uttered to herself.

She then recalled the time when she happily went out with Louis in earnest. She could not deny that an appealing romance occurred between the two of them, and that she had discovered many wonderful things alongside the shy, yet sincere young man.

However, the haunting thoughts of Ann's conflicting feelings along with the misery of a

Mysterious figure and the disdain of a disgusted androgynous rancher always mingled uneasily with those happy memories.

Despite her compassionate well being, she sometimes saw herself as a villainous puppet master instead of the romantic heroine. The strings of fate tied to her very fingers that she tried so hard to carry on without consequences ended up entangling in a chaotic mess.

"There are so many things I could've done back then to avoid all that heartache wrought…" she whispered to herself solemnly.

She closed her eyes once more to picture Louis' devastated face when she decided to break up with him after feeling "distracted" for so long. She pictured a confused Ann who was about to tear at the seams due to her indecisiveness of whether to appreciate Lyla for finally accepting Louis' feelings, or to hate her for taking away something precious. She pictured the decisive discussion in which she nearly lost a friendship with purple-clad Rancher Jamie, who thoroughly rebuked her for trying to fulfill a "foolish" romance. Finally, she pictured the absence of her great friend Jack, who dreaded interfering with her relationship out of his own compassion.

Lyla shuttered as she was drown in overwhelming guilt. After a period of shaking, she decided to throw her head upon the couch seating and tilted her gaze upwards.

"…Am I really… so selfish?" She uttered in a whisper.

Suddenly, the entry door sprang open to reveal a grinning young farmer sporting a backwards blue cap and equally blue overalls. He had fairly unkempt chocolate brown hair with two thick strands sticking out of the cap's opening, and earnest chocolate brown eyes to match.

"Hey, Lyla! I'm home!" The man cried out.

The pink-haired maiden couldn't contain herself any longer. She flung herself upon the man in open tears.

"Darling! I…. I…."

Despite her open expression, she was too shaken to clarify her words.

The farmer noticed her teary eyes and wiped them gently from her face.

"Lyla… is something wrong?" he asked her softly.

Lyla took in a deep breath before trying to speak again.

"I'm…. still sorry… for everything. Why did accept me… even when I ignored you?" She thought while crying.

The farmer suddenly realized the reason for her sudden outburst.

"Oh… that's right.. it's already third Anniversary of when you found out about my feelings by accident… and start contemplating your own towards Louis." He said understandingly.

"You're both good men… I shouldn't have… neither of you didn't deserved to be hurt like that. I was just being hasty and selfish…" Lyla softly cried.

Immediately, the sorrowful maiden felt her cheek gently stroked.

"Lyla… do you still need to feel guilty about all of that after so much time has passed?" the farmer asked her.

"…Jack?" Lyla uttered.

"I think it's about time you can forgive yourself. Everyone else managed to move on after that whole series of incidents, and they've all discovered a reason for happiness. Louis and Ann seem to be on the verge of a healthy relationship, and well, we're married now, so I don't think you need to question our situation." The farmer named Jack grinned.

"Still, it doesn't change the fact that I carelessly crushed so many hearts due to my careless dreaming…" Lyla uttered.

"I guess so, but… the rest of us have already forgiven you a long time ago. Besides, we know you didn't mean anything harmful by it. We also know how much of a warm, caring, person you are, and that's something I've always loved about you." Jack said in a consoling voice.

Lyla shook. She was deeply touched by those words, yet she remembered how Louis said some of those same things, especially at the moment before she finally chose to break up with him.

She was still so distraught, yet Jack could only respond with a gentle smile.

"All of us gained something far greater than emotional scars since that time. It wasn't just our love that resulted from it. Louis became more open and self-confident since knowing you, Ann's finally working out her feelings with ease, and… in a way, I believe you're finding out right know just how deep your compassion is for those around you." Jack explained.

Lyla felt her heart pound. She indeed felt a deep pain, but then she remembered why it remained there in the first place.

"Every single person involved… my friends… they mean so much to me…" she realized.

Jack nodded, as if she had felt those thoughts like they were his own.

"Let me ask you this question one more time: Lyla, can you please forgive yourself?"

Lyla stared deep into Jack's chocolate brown eyes. She saw the happiness he held deep within his heart. She then thought back to Louis and Ann, being able to walk about without a care in the world. Her mind then returned to present consciousness, where she saw her husband's eyes, and the house he worked so hard to provide for her.

The pink-haired farmer slowly raised her head up, then slowly moved it back down. Eventually, her mouth formed a bittersweet smile. A few more tears escaped her eye ducts, and again, Lyla placed her head deep into Jack's warm embrace.

For a long time, Jack simply held on to his gentle wife as she continued to cry away her grief.

As she did, her mind again pictured the many friends she adored so much, and swore never to neglect them again.

_"I love you... every single one of you…" _

_Author's Notes: I was actually going to do a short story of when Lyla confronts Ray, (because I REALLY like doing Ray and Female Encounter Fics) but this somehow came into mind with top priority. Yeah, this is a prequel to a few other shorts I did that involved the love triangle with Lyla, Louis, and Jack, with Basil as a red-herring and Jamie as a bystander who became sick of Lyla's romantic fantasies. All dramatic stuff, really, but I thought the poor girl deserved some closure for all the guilt she felt for the actions she could have taken instead._

_As you can tell, she really appeals to me. I'm also really happy to be able to get into this mindset to portray her as this kind and wise soul with her special faults._

_And to think that I was considering Dia and Maria as alternate prospective wives…_

_Yay, Lyla Love!_


End file.
